WE all recognise that surge of panic when things are getting a bit much.

Whether it's sleepless nights, mood swings or loss of appetite, the chances are that the stresses and strains of everyday life have affected you at some point.

While stress can be relatively harmless if you learn how to handle it, letting it spiral out of control could lead to anxiety and depression.

Moving house, starting or losing a job, relationship troubles and bereavement could all become sources of stress, says Dr Felix Davies, NHS clinical psychologist at Selby and York Primary Care Trust.

"It's important to identify the things that are stresses to you and plan how to handle them," said Dr Davies. "The view you take about a stressful situation will affect the impact it has on you.

"For example, when moving house, if you dwell only on the things that could go wrong rather than the benefits as well, then the experience is likely to be more stressful and it can lead to a self-fulfilling prophesy.

"Stress is part of everyday life. Everyone at some point in their lives experiences stresses and anxiety in some shape or form and there's nothing weird or odd about it."

Living circumstances, such as financial or housing problems and arguments with neighbours, or transitional stages, such as becoming a parent, or leaving home, or looking after family members, can often lead to stress.

"Often people start to panic and think that they can't cope when things start to go wrong," said Dr Davies. "Their body can start reacting, perhaps their heart beats faster, they might feel dizzy or sweaty, then they recognise the symptoms of their body reacting and panic even more, which is a vicious circle.

"You need to stop, take a step back and think about what's going on from an objective point of view, perhaps by thinking 'what would someone else think about this?', and try to nip it in the bud at an early stage.

"If you do notice a reaction in your body, it's helpful to think 'that's OK, that's a normal reaction to stress and I can cope'.'"

Dr Davies said that it was important for people not to underestimate the skills they already had to manage stress.

"We work in a step-by-step approach, with the first step being to see what you can do yourself to try to deal with stress. If you find it difficult managing it yourself then maybe look for help from other sources, such as talking to someone who you find supportive, and also trying self help books. Local libraries should have a good range of self-help books on a variety of topics.

"If problems still exist then speak to your GP, who should be able to discuss what options are available including local support groups and organizations, information services, or referral to a counsellor or other mental health professional."

:: Stress facts and figures

The Confederation of British Industry estimates businesses lost £10.2 billion in 1998 through lost productivity caused by stress

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 32.9 million days are lost from work every year due to sickness absence - stress, anxiety and/or depression accounts for 13.4 million of those lost work days

An employee who suffers from stress is likely to take at least 29 days off work

Research from Harvard University shows that work stress is as harmful to health as smoking or taking no exercise

30 per cent of all teachers in England and Wales schools took sick leave last year as a result of job-related stress

When questioned by mental health charity Mind about absences from work caused by stress, 27 per cent of workers admitted that they would rather fabricate a purely physical reason for taking time off than tell their boss that they were suffering from stress

:: Top tips for coping with stress

Dr Davies' tips to help cope with stress include

Breathe slowly

Adopt a healthy lifestyle, exercise and eat healthily

Plan ahead, make sure you've got time to do everything you need to do while making time to relax and enjoy yourself

Updated: 10:44 Friday, November 04, 2005